Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Pluto Is Not a Planet. Learning Style Is out Too.

This summary is based on my presentation on this topic at the
National First-Year Experience Conference in Orlando in February, 2016. There was so much interest in this session
that all the seats were filled and many could not attend, so I am sharing the
main ideas in this blog.

The planet Pluto has been part of our popular culture. We all loved the planet Pluto so much that in
the 1930’s Disney even created a cartoon character named after it. There was much disappointment when on July
14, 2006, the New Horizons spacecraft became the first spacecraft to fly by
Pluto, and based on observations from his historic journey, scientists
discovered that Pluto did not meet the criteria of a planet. It was reclassified as a dwarf planet. According to a recent article in Time
Magazine, the public has voted that Pluto should remain a planet. Does a vote based on popular belief make it
true? The outcome of this vote is an
example of the difficulty of discarding long-held beliefs about anything.

In education, we love the concept of learning styles and have
long held the belief that if students use their preferred style, learning will
be increased. Again, does believing make
it so? Although
the use of learning style theory is commonplace in education, credible empirical
research supporting this theory is lacking. Should we re-evaluate our much
loved learning strategies? What is the
evidence?

Cognitive psychologists
Pashler et al. set up criteria for evaluating the research on learning styles
and conducted a review of the literature.
They searched for studies using empirical methodology in which students
were assessed for learning style, randomly assigned to different instructional
approaches, and then tested to show improvement based on learning style. Evidence for the validity of learning style
assessments was weak or contradictory.
The authors concluded that “the widespread use of learning style
measures in educational settings is unwise and a wasteful use of limited
resources.” Recent researchers have confirmed these conclusions (Bishka, 2010: Fridley & Fridley, 2010; Kirshner & Van Merrienboer, 2013; Mayer, 2011; Norman, 2009: Riener & Willingham, 2010; Rohrer & Pashler, 2012; Scott, 2010.)Pashler did find evidence that students learn in different
ways:

They have different aptitudes and interests.

Prior knowledge and culture greatly affect how students learn.

Some students have learning disabilities that affect learning.

Optimal teaching methods vary across disciplines. For example, in teaching writing, a heavy verbal emphasis is required. For teaching geometry, a heavy visual-spatial emphasis works best.

Is the concept of learning styles harmful to students? It places a label on them that may not be
valid and can be limiting. For example,
one student reported that he failed a course because his professor did not
understand that he was a kinesthetic learner.
Newer findings in neuroscience show that we need to use all the senses
in learning, not just the preferred ones.
However, educators have been slow to change their long-held
beliefs.

Basic research on learning and memory has provided new
information on how the brain learns and guidelines for effective study
techniques. John Medina, a developmental
molecular biologist and director of the Brain Center to Applied Learning Research
has written a book called Brain Rules
that translates scientific findings into practical strategies for
learning. His suggestions are based on
peer reviewed journal articles that have been replicated many times.

Medina has suggested some useful ideas for college students
based on brain science:

Using all the senses improves learning. This is called multi-sensory integration.

Visual learning is the most powerful.

Exercise is good for the brain and boosts brain power.

The ability to learn is affected by the emotional environment. Stress interferes with memory. A positive learning environment is best.

The human brain is multi-faceted and each is unique. This idea may support multiple intelligences.

Better attention equals better learning.

Repeat to remember. Long-term memory can become more reliable by repeating the information in timed intervals.

Sleep well, think well. It is during sleep that the brain processes material learned during the day and stores it in long-term memory.

Multi-tasking is a myth. The brain can focus on only one activity at a time. A person who is interrupted takes 50% longer to complete a task and the interruptions result in 50% more errors.

We create new neurons and learn new things throughout life.

Conclusions and next steps:

Continued empirical research on learning styles needs to be done to confirm or reject current learning style theory. However, at the current time, there is not enough scientific evidence to continue using learning styles.

Colleges and students would be wise to invest scarce resources in materials that have proven results.

To maintain credibility, faculty need to be aware of the latest findings in brain research and apply these findings to increase student learning.

There is a need to identify learning practices that have experimental support to provide students with effective learning strategies.

Faculty need to reconsider the effect of labeling students as auditory, visual, or kinesthetic learners since this may limit their ability to learn.

Using learning strategies based on brain science furthers the goal of making education an evidence based field.

Those who write educational materials need to lead the way in helping students and faculty apply current science to learning.

3 comments:

The learning approaches that are commonly used in the texts I have used are Thinking, Doing, Feeling and Innovating. While this deals with not only the senses but how you prefer to approach learning, often the recommendations are similiar -if your instructor does not teach according to your preference, adapt so that you can be more successful. Also, the recommendations for instructors are similiar -students have different preferences, so differentiated instruction is necessary to engage all learning approaches. What have you found about this or do you see a distinction?

I have seen some information on this and these are just different labels for learning styles. We should be encouraging students to use all modalities for learning. All students should be encouraged to think, do, feel, and innovate, and not focus on one of these styles. This is difficult for all of us because we have been using these theories for many years, including myself. I finally have the answer to many of my students over the years who showed no learning preference. I would be very interested in additional comments. Best wishes as you help your students to be successful.

As regards to instruction, I think that the learning styles movement has had a beneficial effect in that most faculty realize the importance of teaching to engage all the senses. This instructional approach is still valid and important.

Blog Purpose and Goals

The purpose of this blog is to provide a forum for the discussion of current issues and challenges in teaching college and career success courses in higher education. The goals are to further the cause of social justice by increasing success in higher education for the diverse members of our society and to help students find a satisfying career after graduation.

About Me

Dr. Fralick has been teaching college and career success courses at Cuyamaca Community College since 1978. For most of those years, she was the Department Chair in charge of curriculum, professional development, hiring, evaluation and program assessment. She is currently working as an author and educational consultant with colleges across the country. She is the author of several textbooks including College and Career Success, Native American College and Career Success, Hawai'i and Pacific Island College and Career Success, Career Success, interactive online e-texts and custom editions.

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